Up First briefing: Hurricane Idalia; Proud Boys; Spanish Soccer controversy

Today’s newsletter highlights an incoming hurricane in Florida, sentencing for Proud Boys members, a sexual assault scandal in Spanish football, and a disrupted online influence operation linked to China.

Hurricane threat: Hurricane Idalia, a Category 3 storm, is set to hit Florida’s Big Bend region, and concerns are rising about dangerous storm surge potential.
* Many homes in this region are older and not designed to withstand hurricanes.
* Search and rescue efforts will not be possible until after the hurricane has passed.
* The storm is predicted to still be a hurricane when it reaches Georgia in the afternoon.

Court sentencing: Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio is to be sentenced for crimes related to the Jan. 6 insurrection.
* Although Tarrio was not present at the Capitol, he was convicted of seditious conspiracy, and prosecutors say he led Proud Boys to take over the Capitol building.
* Prosecutors are seeking a 33-year prison term for Tarrio and a 27-year jail sentence for group member Ethan Nordean.

Soccer scandal: Luis Rubiales, head of Spain’s soccer federation, is being investigated over forcibly kissing player Jenni Hermoso after the World Cup win.
* Hermoso stated that the kiss was non-consensual and decried it as a sexist act.
* The entire Spanish team and 50 additional players have threatened not to play for Spain until Rubiales is ousted.

Chinese influence: Meta (formerly Facebook) has intervened in a widespread online influence campaign tied to Chinese law enforcement.
* More than 8,000 accounts, pages, and groups spreading political messages have been taken down by Meta.
* The disinformation campaign, known as “Spamouflage,” interspersed political posts amid random videos and images.

View original article on NPR

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